Well, here goes my first fanfic! Please be sure to review and let me know if this is something you would like me to continue. Enjoy!

AN: Revised a couple sentences and replaced some words.

~Prologue~

Not even the roaring cascades of the dam could rival the boisterous protesting occurring outside the lab facility. The shabby fences that surrounded the property offered minimal protection against the irate horde surging forward in angry waves. The professor found himself flinching with every pound the mob made as he cautiously made his way to the president'soffice. As beautiful and ambitious as the president was, he always had a feeling that she was hiding something sinister behind her cloudy, grey eyes. He suspected she was the sort of person who would sell her own mother if it meant she could take the company to greater heights. Of course he kept these thoughts to himself; he didn't want to mysteriously wind up as part of her next science project.

After contemplating the wisdom of answering the president's call to her office, the professor resigned himself to taking his chances. He curled his sweaty hands and timidly rapped his knuckles against the foreboding door of oak.

"Come in," a smooth, velvet voice echoed. The professor silently prayed that it wasn't really a viper lying in wait on the other side. He creaked open the door and breathed a very audible sigh of relief when he discovered that the source of the bewitching voice belonged to a woman. She stood near the large window of her office with the blinds wide open. Her lips curved into an amused, almost devilish smile. The professor stood quietly as she continued to observe through her window before finally turning to address him.

"Professor, I'm pleased to see you wasted no time in getting here." Her words slithered through the air and wrapped around the professor, constricting his confidence.

"Y-yes, Ma'am," he stuttered, inwardly pleading that she not turn him into a science experiment.

"You see, Professor, I have a very, very important job for you. You've proven yourself more than capable of carrying out what I'm about to ask you." The professor couldn't help gulping. "This job is extremely classified. If so much as one whisper gets into the public, I will personally make sure you 'disappear'." Her comment caused a shudder to snake through his nerve-wracked body. "But that won't happen, right, Professor?"

"N-no, Ms. President."

"Good to hear. Because this," she gestured toward the window, "is what you'll be up against." The professor slowly crept toward the window. He already knew what was out there because he'd been hearing it all day. He wasn't so sure he wanted to actually see it though.

The crowd was much larger than he had anticipated. The massive group stretched across half the dam's bridge, passionately waving signs and banners of protest. One sign read "Stop trying to be gods" while another said "You're going to kill humanity" in bright red ink. A drop of sweat dripped down the professor's neck sending involuntary chills throughout his body. There was no way he could allow the details of the assignment slip. The issue was so controversial that anyone involved would be crushed, squashed, disemboweled, and thrown into a ditch full of worms.

"Do you accept this task? I can assure you that you will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts." A sly smile fell across her lips. The professor felt he had to accept the assignment. He was in desperate need of money. Even with the president's threat hanging over his head, he had to take the chance. With a poorly concealed, shaky voice he answered.

"What is it that you want me to do?" The president's smile curved into a serpentine grin. He could have sworn he saw a forked tongue flicker behind her teeth and he instantly regretted agreeing to her scheme.

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